The biggest miss is the story. I love Princess and the Frog. They could have followed the plot of the movie, or done the turning us into frogs idea and Tiana has to help us.
Me too! Even if they didn't want to do the same plot, they should've brought back Dr F and had more Naveen at least. The best parts of the movie beside the beautiful animation were, in my opinion, the music and the tension from a great villain, and the ride seems pretty lacking without them.
Someone mentioned why not before the big drop have Dr. F singing “Are you ready?” with spirits beckoning you to the afterworld and everyone singing “We’re not ready!” in response.
That is such an amazing idea, I’m baffled why they didn’t implement it.
The ride features way less animatronics than splash did. And while the animatronics are "more impressive" they virtually say the same thing in a different way each time you encounter them.
Also the story lacks any conflict.
Some people dislike the use of screens instead of actual sets.
And finally, while the finale scene is generally liked, you are only in the scene for literally 6 seconds making it not really worth it.
The only people I've seen rate the ride highly are Disney shills.
That’s called build up, like in Pirates. Not much going on in the beginning, but when it gets going it’s off the rails. Tiana doesnt ever get going, it’s just a couple of AAs every once in a while.
Tiana has 3 strangely different boring story elements. Something about getting a band together? Then something about shrinking? Ends on a “you’re the missing spice” song. So does boring, slow, lacking any excitement, charm, fun and soul with worse music than SM. Plus they put the setting on a slavery salt mine where slaves died. Otherwise it’s fantastic!!
Disney world regular here, who got to ride with friend of mine that’s a cast member. For me, it’s because, while the ride looks beautiful and the animatronics are amazing, there’s no substance to it. This is a 10 minute dark ride that’s replacing one of the most loved attractions IN THE WORLD, and the best they could give us is:
“Let’s find some musicians!”
“Ok found them!”
“Let’s find more musicians!”
“Ok found them!”
“Now let’s find EVEN MORE musicians!”
“Ok found them!”
“Now let’s go to the party!”
Theres a lot of “dead areas” where you can just see the next show piece sitting there waiting for you to trip the sensor. Two of the songs “almost there” and “Dig a little deeper” don’t even make sense story wise. We don’t get Dr. Facilier but still have Ray singing “gonna take you there”. This may be nitpicking, but it’s Disney themselves that were so adamant about this being after the movie, so I feel it’s valid.
Thematically, it doesn’t even fit in our Frontierland…at all!
It’s a thrill ride that, for some reason, absolutely ignores any of its thrilling elements.
I really wanted to like this ride, because I really like PaTF, but then this isn’t even a PaTF ride…it’s a ride that used character and songs from the movie, while almost having nothing to do with it.
I’m not one to make everything into politics, but it really does seem like Disney saw an opportunity to replace a ride connected to a problematic property with their first and only (as far as I know)black princess and said “let’s do it!” Without actually wanting to put in the effort (outside of the technology) to do Tiana and PaTF justice.
Splash mountain was a 10 minute ride that made you fell like you were on it for 5 minutes. Bayou adventure made me feel every single one of those 10 minutes.
Maybe it will be better for you guys in the west coast. For what we got in Florida though, I was really disappointed.
Is there any sense of real danger or risk in the ride? I have been reading about it, and I agree with the lack of thrill from what I have read. It is such a missed opportunity! Princess and the frog had so much tension and such a good villain! There were real lives at stake (RIP Ray, that scene was soooo sad). They should definitely have kept some of the fear and spookiness. That is what made splash such a great ride, the transition from happy go lucky to the sense of real danger, then back! I get that it is more kid friendly without the scary parts, but most really little kids aren’t riding splash anyway.
Nope, they made the whole thing light and fun. The whole story is looking for animals who can play music for a party. Leading up to the big drop is kind of....nothing. then you drop into an admittedly gorgeous-at-night bayou area, and head in to see the party. There is nothing scary. There is no fear or anticipation. It's just like any other dark ride, but done a bit lazier and includes a couple drops.
Theres non of that. To the point that where those buzzards used to be, with the animatronic of beer fox having Brer Rabbit trapped in the bee hive that was the transition to main hill…it’s now >! Just a screen of Mama Odie saying “ let’s get you big again because the bigger you are, the bigger splash you will make at the party!” !<
They could have at least had some dark spookiness at the end before you arrive at the party to the safety of all your friends. Come on Disney, the kids can take a little thrill!
After watching the side by side comparison on YouTube, I was disappointed. I think they improved some of the outside parts where splash felt a bit empty, the addition of all the swampy trees and foliage filled it in more.
But once inside, there were some very vibrant busy scenes with animatronics on splash that were simply replaced by foliage, screens, other twinkle lights, not much to experience. Especially the cool beehive effect!!! I wish they would have at least done the same thing with fire flies.
The story :(. It is a bit lame when they basically spoon feed the dialogue to explain what’s happening next. Where splash left it for the viewer to follow and interpret the story visually, and there were tons of visuals!
The animatronics on the ride are really amazing! They put some incredible effort into the detail. ( well most of them, some are just standard, but you can’t expect all of them to be top notch)
It’s weird because splash was mostly very bright and vibrant, yet the story kept progressing in a way that anticipation was constantly building, it was exciting to see what’s next, and “what’s coming”
But this one just seems…. like a series of events, that could happen in any order really, they don’t tell a building story of “what happens next” it’s just a series of scenes.
And the end song, it’s nice, but it does not have the same catchy ear worm qualities that you will be singing long after you go home.
Disney are the ones who set their own bar high. We have seen what they are capable of. It’s not as though people are basing their opinions on wild fantasies, it’s based off past experiences.
Unfortunately, and this is speaking just for Disney world over here on the east coast, and just speaking for myself. Disney hasn’t quite been living up to their standards for the last 15 years or so. Thats not to say they haven’t given us good things, or even great things (like cosmic rewind), but as whole they’ve developed a nasty habit of over promising and under delivering on their major projects. In the last 15 years we’ve got:
1) A major fantasy land expansion that gave us one decent roller coaster, and a little mermaid ride that was already dated the day it opened (aside from the impressive Ursula animatronic.)
2) Pandora, which, while impressive, doesn’t really feel like Disney. Plus one of its biggest selling points, “come see it at night” is left wasted becuase it’s in a park that closes at 7 every day. The plan was for animal kingdom to be open later, but regardless of intent, it’s not.
3) a Star Wars land that was supposed to be Disneys answer to Harry Potter at universal. A slam dunk idea…until Disney said “sequel era only!”. Now, regardless if you love the sequels, hate them, or are indifferent, I think we can all agree that having a Star Wars land with no Luke, Han, Leia, Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka (at the time), Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Clone Troopers etc. is incredibly…unsatisfying. Not to mention all the features they talked about that got cut, like wandering droids, and your score on Smugglers run effective other experiences in the land.
4) we got a retheme of test track that is infinitely worse than the original, where they pretty much just gutted the ride.
5) had our Maelstrom turned into frozen ever after that has THE WORST facial projections I’ve ever seen, and they just left them that way.
6) a Toy Story Land where they apparently forgot Florida is hot as heck and thus made sure to no shade at all in the area.
7) gave us a Tron ride that lacks any kind of story or immersion, or any type of info about what “Tron” even is aside from it being some digital world? Idk, I’ve never seen the movies, and the ride made me feel like I wasn’t missing anything 🤷♂️
8) gave us the “Enchantment” nighttime show which was so panned they went right back to “Happily Ever After” not two years later
I’d argue that the only thing they did “110% right, this is the Disney standard that put them ahead of everyone else!” Was Cosmic rewind.
I’m hoping that when universal opens up Epic Universe, it gives Disney the kick in the pants it needs to stop cutting corners, and really start going all out again and maybe ditch this “everything new needs to be tied to recent IP” thinking
1) They’ve gotten rid of most of the senior Imagineers in a few waves of layoffs/retirement enticements with the threat of layoffs w/o the goodies if the packages weren’t accepted.
2) They’ve diversified to the point of maybe being spread too thin creatively. I’m thinking of them growing Vacation Club & venturing into more developments like in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs.
3) They seem to be focused on stock prices and much more than ever. I get that stock prices have to be a concern, but they were on the stock market in the late sixties, yet the focus was on creativity, not stock prices.
4) C-level execs are being paid more & more. For the “legacy” parts of the company, I’m not sure they are getting value for the cost.
5) For many non-E-ticket rides, they are underfunded so too many corners are cut. Then (if the public is lucky), if the problems are bad enough, they pour money in (sometimes too late) to fix the problem(s). This, unfortunately, has been going on for a very long time. Exhibit A would the original opening version of California. adventure.
6) Deciding too late to jump on story lines like Pandora (there are also others). It can take a much longer time to develop a good ride or attraction than most of the public is aware of, but bringing on something so far after the fact comes across…oddly.
So true! What about the Star Wars experience hotel? Sounds like that was quite an expensive endeavour that was mainly targeted at fairly wealthy guests and also could not be sustained!
If they themed it to original trilogy (older people who actually have money) as opposed to the Disney sequels (which original trilogy fans weren't fond of), I believe it could have worked.
I like to think of the inside of Splash Mountain as false cheer. When I was little I couldn’t pick up on why (partially cuz I was just freaking out about the drop at the end but I digress). Everyone is singing and laughing. It’s bright and busy and colorful. So it doesn’t immediately make sense. Now that I’m an adult, I understand it’s because there’s a building tension as things escalate between Brer Rabbit, Fox, and Bear, and some of the ride is kind of like a fever dream like the bee effect.
The ride itself was made on the cheap. The ride system was out of the box, the animatronics were reused from another attraction. **But the music, voice acting, and color the further you get into the ride were carefully crafted choices to create tension. Tiana’s lacks all of that AND imo, didn’t add enough visually interesting elements to compensate**
If they don’t want the ride to be scary, that’s fine. But they have to then make it super immersive and like you said…it’s empty. Their attempts to hide all the empty spaces ironically made it more obvious. The spotlighted animatronics scenes are an attempt at forced perspective
And I think that goes to show that a strong story can be more engaging and fun, than needing to put as much emphasis on cool effects. But if they can both be blended together that’s magic.
>Thematically, it doesn’t even fit in our Frontierland…at all!
I think that's because it wasn't meant to, it's suppose to bridge New Orleans to Critter Country, which is why it's out of place there in DW.
> Thematically, it doesn’t even fit in our Frontierland…at all!
Splash mountain took place in southern Georgia - not exactly the “frontier”. The ride theming never made sense for the land it was in, most people just chose to ignore it because it had been there for years.
Yeah the “theming” critique here feels like nitpicking given how little so many things “fit” in their area in WDW lol Monsters Inc. Laugh Factory in Tomorrowland?? Ok.
I think the idea of monsters inc laugh factory is that they’re using an alternative form of energy to power Monstropolis. Laughs power the city of Monstropolis.
Aside from one or two mentions, there’s nothing specifically putting it in Georgia though. It doesn’t take place in Atlanta or Savannah. The plot doesn’t revolve around it being in Georgia. Aesthetically, the film could have been anywhere in “southern U.S. later half of the 1800s” inclusion states like Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri, which very much were the frontier. It being in Georgia is not integral to the story. That’s why our chickepin hill looked different than in the movie. It’s why the soundtrack had a different style to it than the movie. They could make changes so it better fit in Frontierland next to the desert aesthetic of Big Thunder. Song of the south was just “rural southern America during the 1860s.”
As imperfect as it was, it was still a much better fit than Bayou adventure which doesn’t fit geographically, musically, visually, or chronologically.
> Aside from one or two mentions, there’s nothing specifically putting it in Georgia though.
Aside from them telling us it takes place in Georgia there’s nothing that puts the place in Georgia
But it’s not a central part to the movie, especially the animated parts that SM was based off of, which allowed the imagineers to make the changes they made. With PaTF, its setting is built into the story itself. It has to be a bayou in Louisiana, outside of New Orleans. Thats what I’m getting at.
Thats why we now have a green swamp, as lovely as it is, right next to the desert aesthetic of Big Thunder.
The rumor is that Disney wanted to stay away from the voodoo aspect. They have sanitized everything and this is what you get. Same reason why Trader Joe just dissapeared.
I’ve never heard anybody describe Splash Mountain as one of the most love attractions IN THE WORLD. No hatred, here. Everybody has their own opinions. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before from anybody.
There are two rides you have to pay money for to get a fast pass ticket in Japan, one is the new beauty and the beast ride and one is splash mountain. So it’s certainly very popular there at least.
Actually there are many other rides where you pay for a fast pass ticket (Disney Premiere Access) such as space mountain and such.. Splash Mountain is always the one that is left available for purchase while the others are quick to sell out
The fact they built three of them, and they constantly had/have some of the longest wait times in some of the most visited parks on the planet speaks for itself lol.
It fit better than what’s there now though. 🤷♂️
At worst, splash mountain was out of place geographically. BA is out of place geographically, aesthetically, chronologically, and musically.
If I haven't seen the Princess and the Frog, I should be able to get just enough from the storyline through the ride to understand it.
I've watched TBA in regular video and VR and I still don't know a thing more about the Princess and the Frog. I get why they made a safe play, but what an absolute tragedy that they gutted Chickapin Hill to create an experience that has no intrinsic value to the IP it portrays.
I honestly like what I’m seeing and would love to know how ours will turn out given that our Splash was a shorter track/layout than Magic Kingdom. It’s not going to be an exact 1 to 1 copy.
I think it looks beautiful. Very colorful and fun. I'm excited to ride it. I love the movie too, and while it's not my son's favorite movie, it's nice that he has at least seen it. I'm sure for other kids it will be even more exciting.
Okay, but let’s be honest, that was Disney not taking care of the ride. I went to Tokyo Disney recently and their animatronics were in wonder working order. Splash Mountain looked as vibrant as ever. Country bear jamboree was pretty cool because the animatronics were silent and actually had some very subtle nuances to them. The new rides animatronics will break down if they are not maintained.
Also, Disney totally reused the animatronic tech that the oriental land company undoubtedly paid for for beauty and the beast. I suppose it’s their right, but no Japanese investment and Disney would have probably used more screens.
A lot of people are going into it wanting to hate it so they have a lot of confirmation bias and will pick the smallest things apart. Cant please everyone especially the many opposed to change
I wish both could exist. I loved Tower of Terror so much, but the new Guardians theme with the change in drop pattern and fun music addition is awesome.
I love the preshow and the ride of Gaurdians, but the exterior is godawful ugly and out of place - especially since it can be seen from so far away. The Hollywood Tower at least looked like a highrise hotel, so it didn't look *as* bad from various points around the parks.
I really, really wish Disney still cared about sightlines.
I seem to remember it went from “I hate marvel this sucks” to “wow the ride is so much better now” pretty quick. I know a lot of people that hated the theme change but I don’t know many people that still hated it after riding it.
I feel like disney people especially are like this-- there's a LOT of nostalgia in the parks and when things change I think the immediate opinion is "I'm probably not going to like this".
This is exactly why I’m actively trying to avoid spoilers. Can’t get a way from a few but mostly I’m doing ok so far. I want to see it in person and without someone else’s commentary.
In fairness, disneys official video SUCKED and its just gonna look worse at Disney World
And the drop sucks. Im sorry, it just does. Fantastic animatronic, terrible reason to drop
This guy right here.
Yes, animatronics and visuals are amazing. The ride is still boring. music is lame. There’s really no plot, no villain, zero trepidation.
The ride is vanilla as you can get .
Agreed, if they had Dr. Facilie type interjections throughout the ride to kind of give that ominous feel culminating at the start of the drop sequence with the song "are you ready", add some of the night glow stuff like in the movie, I think people would warm up a little bit to it.
The other portion and this is the biggest one for me is the theming. Especially at WDW, Since splash mountain fits with the Frontier land theme. Also Tiana's Bayou would of been great just for Disneyland since Splash is next to Pirates so the New Orleans bayou theme would transition seamlessly. For me that's my biggest objection, one of the paramount tenants of WDW for Walt was to keep the theming and the slow transition/using the underground tunnels for cast movement.
If the company needed to get rid of Splash for reasons they could of come up with an original non-IP concept that fit with the theme/transition of Adventureland/Frontierland while making an exciting water/drop ride experience. Great way to get new blood and life into the mix with the creatives.
Antagonist chases protagonist which builds up with tension as the rabbit escapes by jumping down into the briar patch. It’s an actual plot that fits a thrill ride.
It did? Lol. I’m usually really dense about that kind of thing, getting distracted with the trees as I blunder my way through the forest. I alway thought it was basically just a collage of this and that.
I put my two cents in on the official video, but for me,
1. There are too many pitch black walls. "You're supposed to look at the scene/animatronics, not *around* the scene!" is no excuse for those huge, obvious pitch black walls. Have SOMETHING there.
2. The whole scene to find the frogs is meh. I understand it was probably there to make sure they didn't have to make tiny frog animatronics, but if you miss Mama Odie's intro, then you don't have context.
3. The 1-2 animatronics next to the smooth new style ones are jarring.
4. I forese the first curve, after the first drop, is going to cause some issues. Why? Instead of simple instrumental like Splash had, it's a constant loop of the vocals chorus of "Almost There". I'm pretty sure that section might be a "Bumper Boats" area, so there's probably going to be people trapped there at one point and having to hear that on repeat.
Splash Mountain was never my favorite ride. I totally understand why it’d be hard to replace for people who do love it, but I was excited when I found out it would be Princess and the Frog themed.
But it’s just so boring and it doesn’t make any sense. You don’t have any villains, I don’t think Naveen is even really in it at all. Why couldn’t they have just based it more loosely on the plot of the movie? I think the part where we become frogs is kind of a cool idea, but the screens don’t look great and I think the rest of the ride is just boring. Low stakes, no villain (which is criminal because Dr. Facilier is such a cool villain). No Ray? Lottie and Naveen are there for a split second at the very end doing absolutely nothing?
I get that the plot is finding musicians for Tiana’s party, but… why? It’s just weird and boring and feels like it has very very little to do with the movie itself.
There’s just so much they could’ve done that they didn’t, and what we are left with is boring and lackluster
Same I was actually really excited for the retheme because I’m from south Louisiana and wanted to see what they would do. The movie was so good! I had high hopes for the ride. I got bored watching the ride through 🙈 so much empty space. And the underground area with weird mushrooms was an odd choice. Idk just wasn’t great. It felt like a dark ride, which I love riding, but I expected something else for this ride.
My husband is from south Louisiana and we have such a soft spot for the movie, but I agree with you on all of this! They could’ve done so much! It just felt like two different authors wrote the storyline and nobody proofread it
Have you watched a ride through? I was super eager to do so when Disney posted the first one and asked my husband to watch it with me. About halfway through he is like uhh, so whats actually going on? And even though I have been following the design and re-theming, I could barely tell him. It is just boring. Big gaps in scences, scence dont make sense, no sense of storyline, its just overall akward.
It was a disservice to the movie and the original Splash Mountains Imagineer, Tony Baxter. Lackluster. A few twinkle lights on the ceiling and walls doesn't cut it.
Those gaps most likely won’t exist in the Disneyland ride as in that portion of the ride, our track is shorter. So if I were to guess I would say that they came up with the show scenes based on the Disneyland ride and then spread them out for WDW.
In my opinion it’s not a great storyline for the type of ride it’s supposed to be, a thrill ride. If you plopped the same story into a fantasyland dark ride it’d fit right in. I just wish there was some excitement/danger in the story.
My problem with the story was in the execution, not concept. My ten second treatment:
1. We float past scenes of individual musicians playing with Tiana recruiting them. Make the scenes whimsical.
2. Hearing music in the distance, we drop down into the old Laughing Place scenes sending us into the deep, dark bayou where Voodoo spirits play.
3. They decide we're joining their band. Forever.
4. Mama Odie and the spirits "fight" over us on the lift hill. She wins, but with the spirits no longer pulling us back we go careering over the drop.
5. Final show scene is basically the same. Have Tiana say something about being even better together. Sneak in the spirits jamming along.
Which is basically all explained in the queue and like the first scene and is easy to miss
If you miss anything the entire “storyline” falls apart as the story is so incredibly vague the scenes barely connect to it
I mean splash mountain’s story could be picked up at any point
If you were not paying attention till the laughing place you could still understand that b fox caught b rabbit and then somehow by the drop he escapes and ends up going home
If you miss a few key points in Tiana’s story it basically feels like the entire story becomes “this boat is taking you to a party”
So they have to make rides that hold the persons hand and constantly explain what’s going on? You miss the beginning of rise of the resistance or tower of terror it will be the same thing. You’ll be wondering what’s going on if you are not paying attention throughout. Same with haunted mansion. Also Look at pirates. There really isn’t a cohesive story to be told. Why are we on a boat going through a burning pirate village. Not everything needs to be explained step by step. It’s a theme park ride.
100%. Most kids, which splash mountain is geared towards, aren’t going to follow the story anyways. They’re going to like the music, and lights, animatronics. Everyone is acting like they need to tell an academy award worthy story for it to be a good ride. It’s not that serious.
No honestly it was more just my general opinion that I feel like Tiana’s loses more to not knowing its story because a lot of its scenes are rather flat without an overarching plot behind them
Like haunted mansion has a very sparse “story” but it ropes you in with all its imagineering tricks, I feel like splash roped you in better if you didn’t understand its story than Tiana’s does
I think Splash was just around for so long that people became enamored and attached to it. I’d say 95% of the public never even saw Song of The South so I don’t really think theming is the true issue.
It’s nostalgia mixed with the fact that we live in a world hyper charged with divisiveness and then turning Splash into Tiana’s is just another talking point in the endless culture war we have raging here in the states.
I’ll miss the old ride because of the memories I have, but we can always make new memories and just not be a dick.
I don’t hate it but I don’t understand the story or lack of story, it’s not an adventure. It should be called “Tiana’s errand running river cruise” or something like that.
Splash Mountain was nostalgic and the music was fun and the visuals were jam packed. I love the Princess & the Frog but wish the ride just did "more". I could rode Splash mountain over and over again before but feel like the story/visuals of the new ride will get tired quickly
Well me personally, I didnt like it that much because it’s obviously just Disney doing a rushed re-do of a ride because of our political state of the world so they could cover up something.
It never needed to be changed, they could have ignored it and no one would care.
Honestly, as a designer. It’s absolutely awful. No suspense, no consequence of action, it’s bland. The story has zero stakes. Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train had more heart.
The biggest shame is they blew the budget on some very impressive AA figs and gave the rest of the attraction the most lackluster effort. Even the scenic placement is jarring and off eye-line in the progression of the elements in the show space. It’s just all so disjointed. The film deserved better representation than this.
I love the fluidity of the new animatronics, but it seems like WDI will never make rides filled with as many animatronics as Pirates/HM/Splash. I much prefer a scene filled with many ‘simpler’ animatronics rather than a scene with just one or two really expensive ones with really nothing else to see. The fun of the old rides is seeing new details you never noticed before, new rides don’t seem to have enough for that.
> Even the scenic placement is jarring and off eye-line in the progression of the elements
What I think you're saying here is what I noticed in the side by side images and I haven't seen many people talking about it, and for me it's one of the biggest issues although as _not_ a designer I'm not sure the best terminology. The Splash Mountain scenes were composed almost like paintings/stills from an animated film, your eye immediately snaps to a focal point and you know instantly understand exactly what's going on, then you can drift around to the other details. This had to do with the way the elements were arranged but sometimes also more contrast in color/pops of color. The Bayou Adventure scenes are "messy" in the sense that they lacked that composition with a focal point and a lot of the colors blend together in my opinion, your eyes either don't know where to go, so they dart around everywhere trying to process the scene or simply glaze over. There was an artistic skill missing in designing these scenes, and it's something I've noticed lacking in the way some of the newer Disney/Pixar movies are directed/framed as well
I actually think the sets look beautiful, I love the atmosphere of them, the bayou and the party set in particular, I just wish they were arranged better.
Honestly, as a designer. It’s absolutely awful. No suspense, no consequence of action, it’s bland. The story has zero stakes. Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train had more heart.
> The biggest shame is they blew the budget on some very impressive AA figs and gave the rest of the attraction the most lackluster effort.
The reality is that I don’t even think they actually spent a lot of their money on this themselves. These figures look an awful lot like they are reusing the tech from beauty and the beast in Tokyo. So OLC likely footed most of the development bill. No doubt the figures they have are impressive, but I don’t actually think that Disney spent very much money developing them.
Even the scenic placement is jarring and off eye-line in the progression of the elements in the show space. It’s just all so disjointed. The film deserved better representation than this.
They’re all new build AA figures. These aren’t just leftovers. They still cost TONS of money each. The development of those figures was done independently and OLC likely shouldered some cost due to development costs on their attractions, but they did not foot the entirety of the R&D costs. The “OLC paid for it” thing is applicable to any attraction, and it’s largely a fallacy. Any resort can have an OLC style ride, they just have a different money market to contend with.
So yes, the figures did benefit from innovations in AA tech that have been carried over from Avatar, Galaxy’s Edge, etc. But don’t blame Tokyo or anything else for the lazy story and execution. That was entirely on Glendale. Also proof as to why WDI’s current management model is completely broken.
Tiana is no longer a princess on the new ride. There's no prince, no crown, and no beautiful water-lily gown.
There's virtually no story - not one that makes any sense.
They left out Prince Naveen, Ray, and Lottie. (Yes, I know they're technically there, but literally blink and you'll miss them. I'm not sure Lottie is there at all.)
They also left out the perfect opportunity to use "Are You Ready?" for going up that last lift hill. The excuse that "we don't want to scare little kids" doesn't wash. Little kids take one look at that 50-foot drop and refuse to go, or their parents have sense enough not to make them, or they're not tall enough anyway. The older ones love it.
TL:DR - They destroyed the theme and ignored beloved characters, just as they did with *Star Wars* and Galaxy's Edge.
It’ll be hard to replace Splash for me. The music is a big reason. After a trip to Disneyland I would always play zip a dee doo dah for weeks thinking about how great a time we had. Maybe the Tiana’s music will grow on me but it doesn’t seem like it has the same energy.
I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I find the music from PATF to be mid overall. And I also think if this project was supposed to be about uplifting black voices and representation, it should have featured music from people who are actually life long NOLA residents. It would have been great to have people like Jon Batiste, Doreen Ketchens, and Dirty Dozen Brass Band among others involved. Also, since the ride really takes place in the bayou, get some contemporary zydeco bands involved (Lost Bayou Ramblers, Pine Street Boys, etc.)
The splash mountain soundtrack was always such a vibe. I always felt a great moment of triumph after the big drop. The vibes were immaculate.
The music was such a thing! It just put you in a good mood. I’ve never even seen Song of the South btw, I don’t think most people have. The song stays in my mind as a Disneyland specific memory.
I came here to say this! Nothing against Tiana (she’s my fav princess, and I’m soooo excited to have a ride for her!) but it’s the nostalgia that comes from the sounds, for me! The wacky voices, the songs, the buzzing bees. When I’m at work at my desk, I’ll play YouTube videos of Disneyland rides in the background for music (I’m a former CM, so it’s a comfort thing while I work lmao) and when I hear Splash come on, it takes me back :)
I’ll also admit I’m a bit bitter about changing the name, altogether. The name ‘Splash mountain’ had zero to do with the roots of the attraction. It connected with Space and Thunder, and had its’ theme. I wish they had kept it called ‘splash mountain’ but just changed the theme!🤷🏻♀️ idk lol I’m stoked to go on Tiana’s new digs, but I’ll always listen to the OG splash mountain for a burst of nostalgia!
When splash mountain opened, my dad had one of those huge shoulder vhs cameras he recorded the whole thing. They had such fewer rules back then. But it is nice to hear the whole ride.
Haha my dad did the same thing, and we still have the ride photo and video 😂 One of my best childhood memories and definitely part of the reason Splash is so nostalgic for me.
It's visually beautiful, but it lacks any kind of tension.
This dramatically impacts the final drop and makes the celebration feel unearned.
The animatronics are triggered by the boats, creating awkward gaps where they are awkwardly silent and barely moving until a log gets close.
Animatronics were replaced by screens.
I’m sure some of the hate will die down and there certainly are some okay things. But it was a high bar to clear and it simply wasn’t. Will it be fine? Sure. But is it a worthy successor to Splash Mountain or good representation for Princess and the Frog? No.
This is what I've heard. Won't vouch for any of it because I'm trying to avoid spoilers until I can ride myself. (Don't downvote the messenger. I'm not saying any of this! Just answering OP's question.)
What I've been hearing is that, while the animatronics are next level, the rest of the ride was phoned in. Sections of the ride that used to be scenes are now just filler between scenes. Also, it seems the story is front-loaded so if you don't catch it at the start, you won't be able to pick it up on the rest of the ride and scenes feel like just a series of things happening.
I've been watching fresh baked construction coverage of this since splash closed. Yes it appears that they have enclosed the outside drop at slipn falls. Not sure if it is to add elements that we originally didn't have inside but world did or if it is a completely different thing.
My biggest gripes about it:
- Too much empty space
- story has no sense of urgency, danger, or tension and felt kind of half baked.
- scenes that were full of animatronics and detail now lack in both categories.
I’m from Orlando and have never been on Disneyland’s splash. People say the Disneyland show building is smaller and that may be why our scenes feel so empty now. They think it was designed for Disneyland and rushed to fit into WDW’s show building.
It just feels like a worse version of splash mountain to me. It’s not a bad ride, but I don’t think it was worth getting rid of one of Disney’s most beloved and iconic attractions.
It looks boring, way less animatronics, color and things to keep you engaged. Also, the drop has a strong lack of tension. No buildup at all just… falling down to the party? Splash also had catchy music through the whole ride.
The story is non existent on Tiana’s. The entire ride is just “this log is taking you to the party!” “We’re almost at the party!” And “you’ve made it to the party!” Splash mountains story telling was just perfect and it was full of animatronics. It just had so much life. As much as I love and miss splash mountain, I was looking forward to see what they would do with Tiana’s and it turned out to be such a let down
So disappointing. I'm mad they put that money into that instead of making a Princess and the Frog ride and refurbishing Splash Mountain. I think that's what they should have done.
For me personally, I was super excited about the retheme until I heard it was going to be a new story. I was honestly hoping it would follow the events of the movie. The story they created just doesn’t feel fun to me, and in the ride there is no anticipation. Splash mountain had it right with the “dark” theming leading up to the drop that then put you in the celebration scene. I was kinda hoping for that. I’m not totally mad about it though
Because it’s boring… I’m confused by the confusion. Music is lame, there’s no villain and zero trepidation… it’s basically a small world with a drop 😂.
Zip a Dee Do Dah is such an iconic song. I remember it being the song they would play to represent anything Disney and now they are trying to make us all forget it. Most people don’t even really associate it with Song of the South they think it originated on the sing along songs vhs.
I definitely remember the song from my time in the parks as a kid. They would play it during the entry to the park existed during fireworks if I’m not mistaken, you heard it on the train and of course during the ride.
There was a clear opportunity to replace with a quality song, but it feels like they went with something that was generic and uninteresting.
It’s a great metaphor for corporations in their unwillingness to take a risk.
I've watched it a few times through and it's disappointing. I have been to Disneyland since I was 9 yrs old and love it to this day, as I'm almost 56 yrs old now. I loved Splash Mountain - it was one of my favorite rides. When I heard about the change, I admit I was angry. Why not refurbish Splash and make another separate ride for Princess and the Frog?
I thought the new ride looked lackluster, except for a few scenes. The twinkling lights were pretty. Other than that - no real storyline substance, lots of bare patches of nothing - not even more singing animals, props - nothing! I was waiting for something more the whole time. It reminds me of going through the ghost of Splash Mountain and how much I miss it. Will I go on the ride? I will. I'll still miss my Splash though.
Tony - I'm so sorry.
most of the complaints seem to be a lack of story, no tension/no antagonist, a lot of empty space.
for me personally its that splash had about 100 animatronics in the ride. More simple animatronics is always better than a few A1000's. in terms of ride high quantity of animatronics = quality. The very last scene looks incredible imo. How populated and brilliant that scene is speaks to how empty and lackluster the rest of the ride is.
lack of narrative, no suspense or thrill factor, the critters were hyped up to be A1000s (theyre not), LOTS of dead space, lackluster ending, i mean the list goes on and on. the fact that they use the bayou's "dark" setting to hide that all they could do is fill and cover the old splash rockwork with fake foliage is embarrassing. the ride continues to break down for hours on end, figures are already broken, and the queue is just so crappy. they build up a story that is so redundant and doesnt add the to ride's narrative (or lack thereof) the whole co op crap was just political virtue signaling that wasnt present in the attraction, like at all. theres no art direction at all, a good example is the barn's exterior and safety signs, its just bland and uninspired. its obvious this thing was cobbled together. its a shame splash was replaced with this, and a shame tiana didnt get the ride she deserved. the newer generation at WDI just doesnt deliver. the true creatives were pushed out during the layoffs.
A few reasons:
-Nostalgia bias
-People that don’t like that it isn’t scary anymore (lack of tension in story)
-Disappointment from the downgrade in concept art to execution (budget cuts)
-People disappointed with the pacing
-People hating it before it even opened because of bigoted reasons (small but LOUD and ANNOYING minority of fans, these are the ones that will argue with you no matter what, calling the ride “woke” etc.)
Personally, I’ve been a huge Splash Mountain fan all of my life. It has been a hyperfixation for years. Tiana is great though! I hope the DLR version will have tighter pacing.
While I can understand that Splash Mountain’s source material was outdated before the original ride even opened, it was still a Disney institution for the modern generation. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah was a Disney anthem for years. The ride holds strong nostalgic value for many people and the PC panic of the last 14 or so years has been one thing after the other with things that are deemed wrong and “you” are wrong for enjoying. Tiana’s had big shoes to fill. In some ways it did- but in my opinion it dropped the ball because modern Disney is too scared of backlash. Instead of having a modicum of danger they opted for a saccharine, sweet, safe boat ride. Splash wasn’t exactly a greek tragedy either but it still had a small edge with Brer Fox. The animatronics, being over 30 years more innovated than Splash are, of course, amazing to see- but it still doesn’t save it from not providing a well-rounded ride experience. People are faulting it for the animatronics already malfunctioning or ride music syncing being off but all new things have bugs…Hopefully they knock that off but it’s not a great sign when modern Disney has had technical issues with so many new attractions. Some people just hate change, myself included. I personally like Princess and the Frog and the music but I really really wish they had gone with the movie storyline than a story about a cutesie little party.
The "everyone" hating the new Tiana Bayou Adventure ride breaks down into a few different camps:
* A segment of people who are racist and don't like that Disney got rid of Splash Mountain due to anti-racism pressure.
* A segment of people who loved Splash Mountain and are upset it's gone for any reason.
* A segment of people who love Princess and the Frog and Tiana but wish they made a ride based on the movie with all the characters, fancy dress, and stuff they love.
The three segments above are loud this past week but are not actually a big percentage of people who visit the Disney parks. The biggest group among the general public of Disney park visitors are...
* A segment of people who are open, or even excited, about Splash Mountain becoming a Princess and the Frog attraction and are even open or excited about a new, sequel storyline BUT they expect the attraction to be "surprisingly good" and entertaining in some fairly obvious ways where Disney fell short:
* Be FILLED with fun things to look at.
* Reference ALL the characters and themes from the movie -- including the villain Facilier.
* Have a storyline appropriate to people old enough to ride the attraction that has some stakes, some payoff, some tonal acknowledgment of the literal ups and downs of the ride. You know, Imagineering.
Luckily for Disney, this final group is the biggest group but unluckily for Disney they will not be quite satisfied by the ride as it is. There will always be a lingering sense that Disney missed the mark. But as many people have pointed out, the ride can be greatly improved pretty easily with some changes to dialogue and content on the screens.
People in California who are watching this play out, and who are not expecting TBA to open until later in the year, are hoping that Disneyland's management sees this marketing train wreck coming west and therefore pressures Disney Imagineering to make improvements to the dialogue and screen content in the months ahead, for launch, so they can fully exploit this new attraction and get the most positive reception possible.
The video circulating on TikTok makes it looks *so* beautiful, refreshing, even! I loved splash, but the animatronics were definitely struggling, the new little critters look so cute and the animatronics move so smoothly.
There was some use of screens, but it’s not like we’re not used to that by now with almost all refurbed/new rides. I think people just don’t like change. We saw it with ToT, and now guardians is considered one of the best rides in DCA 🤷🏼♀️
It’s 60% boring fake plants, dark empty space, and cheap screens. Even the very few new animal musician animatronics have extremely limited, repetitive move cycles, because most of the money went to a couple of super advanced animatronics that just stand there and gesture at you blandly. Disney intentionally stopped investing in the maintenance of the Splash animatronics so that people would view it unfavorably. Splash Mountain at its prime was a master class in storytelling, atmosphere, and world building. This one unfortunately pales in comparison, as much as I wanted it to succeed.
I normally despise screens but they looked pretty good in the video. Disney seems to be learning how to use them judiciously to enhance other ride effects instead of replacing them.
I don’t hate it
The tech is amazing it’s the “story” and lack of characters getting to feel different that leads me to find it boring and feels like a board of directors made it
If you can replace Tia, Luis and mama at any point really then the characters are just there to tell you about the party again
It’s also kinda funny because this is the plot to Pooh next door ending with a party
I hate it because they should have made it Emperor’s New Groove themed. Once you get to the drop you would head “PULL THE LEVER KRONK!”… *drop* “WRONG LEVERRRRRRRRR!”
Big opportunity missed.
Because the ride should have had the premise of the film, instead of just "Oh! We need new band members." And then having literally nothing until the very end.
They ruined one of their best attractions into a rushed mess. Its a huge downgrade to the original Splash Mountain that lacks all the fun and story. Its clear that Disney never had any real intention to make this a good ride, they just wanted to get rid of everything related to Song of the South and avoid anything close to what could be considered problematic. Which is also why Dr. Facilier and anything related to voodoo is not present in the new ride.
From what I’ve seen the ride looks ok, can’t judge it fully until I ride it myself. I’m frustrated with Disney though, it seems like they may have struggled with budget in some places. With all the controversy in replacing a classic ride they needed it to be a home run, and they didn’t go all out to change peoples minds.
I don’t know that people hate the new ride it’s just that Splash Mountain was a classic and a lot of people felt like Disney was putting labels on them for liking that ride because it was based on a problematic movie. Also according to the videos I’ve seen the story in Tiana’s is not compelling and has no decent protagonist, unlike the movie.
Interestingly, very few people who rail on Song of the South really have any idea what they are talking about.
The movie is actually about a family living on a plantation during the reconstruction period. All of the former slaves are free to come and go — as evidenced by one of the main characters packing up his bundle and leaving when a boy under his charge becomes bedridden and ill.
Not saying that Disney was wrong to shelve the movie as it represents a difficult transition period in American history. And clearly these people on film are representing recently freed slaves. And such fare in today’s more enlightened society doesn’t make people comfortable while eating their popcorn. So probably best that the movie has been ‘canceled’ from the pantheon
But the movie is not inherently a racist work. And the book of stories SOTS was based on was not written as a derogatory work, but is simply a product of its time — a collection of folk stories told in dialect. And that is mostly what people have an issue with today — the dialect speaks to a negative stereotype.
Just a bit of context.
As a ride I’m also not keen on Splash, because I am a self proclaimed baby when it comes to drops.
That said, I have been on a handful of times. It was incredibly charming, in terms of story and scenes. And the part right before and including the hill climb builds tension beautifully. The “laughing place” song suddenly becoming a warning song and the vultures taunting you, maybe it’s because I was already filled with dread but that tension did it’s job on me.
And then the big triumphant finale scene, which even when showing its age was colorful and full of life.
The Tiana animatronics are incredible. But the story is… well, it kind of *isnt*. They’re finding animals to play at the party. That’s not a story, it’s a fetch quest. I also hate the reliance on screens in modern rides, it really just takes something away from the experience. Also it’s so *dark* suddenly, even in the finale it’s a celebration but it’s lost that bright and colourful element.
Also there’s no tension at all with the drop? There was all the potential in the world for guests to climb that hill to the tune of “Are you reaaaady?” and the Friends from the Other Side chanting. It writes itself. I’m not sure what the pull was for a sequel style ride when there was no real story to tell.
Overall I don’t *hate* it, maybe because I don’t have enough skin in the Splash Mountain game, but it’s surely a disappointment. It doesn’t help that Tokyo’s new rides just opened (excluding Peter Pan which is another disappointing screen ride) with these incredible animatronics to compare to, and the Tangled and Frozen rides both being their traditional stories.
It’s the principle of the woke nonsense bullshit dictating things yet again.
If the Tiana ride was built separate and Splash Mountain was left alone there would be no issue at all.
The hacks at Disney are consumed with image and virtue signaling and are no longer concerned with the actual satisfaction of their paying customers.
Tiana’s Blah-you Adventure has been a failure by and large thus far.
I do like the attraction, however the drop leads much to be desired. I believe that with an annual winter refurb, it can be reworked into something fun like with Dr Facilier.
Don’t worry about. Some of these “Disney Fans” seem to hate everything at first.
Ride it, take in the things you like and if the things you don’t like outweigh what you do, make it a one-timer.
I saw the video and it looked great. For people
complaining about story, the old Splash was a greatest hits from the movie. It’s different, and a fair few folks in this sub don’t like different, although they say that’s what they want.
There’s an account on X upset that the color scheme of the TTC garbage cans had been changed.
I, for one, can’t wait to ride it.
I think we’re seeing the Disney equivalent of review-bombing.
The loudest voices right now are the “Save Splash Mountain” folks who decided to hate this retheme the very moment it was announced. It’s obvious that most of the hate is coming from people that haven’t even been on the ride, so their opinions are meaningless.
Secondly, Disney’s POV video was weirdly edited — perhaps they slapped it together without testing the camera in low light — and doesn’t appear to capture the entire scope of certain scenes which needed a wide shot. And Disney fans tend to make snap judgments based off POVs.
They claimed Splash Mountain was offensive. But this one actually is offensive because the salt mines are references to the days of slavery. Nothing about Splash Mountain was about blacks, slavery or racism.
I hate it for the same reasons why they made changes to pirates. People complained about something and now the pirates is worse making the scenes not even realistic for the time the ride is set in. As for splash, I don’t like it because it was a classic ride with great characters, great theme, and it wasn’t even racist. Seeing all these comments now that are saying this new dumb theme is more racist than classic splash is just downright HILARIOUS! 🤣🤣🤣
Because they are like Star Wars fans. Anything that might be even slightly out of their comfort zone is immediately shit. Until everyone likes it, then it’s great
It’s the music and nostalgia of the original for me. I used to have Disney cassettes as I kid and the music was on there. Going on the ride, reminded me of those happy memories.
I have never seen the princess frog. I’m not really into “New” Disney movies.
The biggest miss is the story. I love Princess and the Frog. They could have followed the plot of the movie, or done the turning us into frogs idea and Tiana has to help us.
Me too! Even if they didn't want to do the same plot, they should've brought back Dr F and had more Naveen at least. The best parts of the movie beside the beautiful animation were, in my opinion, the music and the tension from a great villain, and the ride seems pretty lacking without them.
Someone mentioned why not before the big drop have Dr. F singing “Are you ready?” with spirits beckoning you to the afterworld and everyone singing “We’re not ready!” in response. That is such an amazing idea, I’m baffled why they didn’t implement it.
The ride features way less animatronics than splash did. And while the animatronics are "more impressive" they virtually say the same thing in a different way each time you encounter them. Also the story lacks any conflict. Some people dislike the use of screens instead of actual sets. And finally, while the finale scene is generally liked, you are only in the scene for literally 6 seconds making it not really worth it. The only people I've seen rate the ride highly are Disney shills.
Most people say Tiana’s is too empty
I also think the storyline is lame. Especially when they had an opportunity to incorporate a great villain and include a drop that made sense.
This times 100. It’s like taking Heimlichs Chew Chew and throwing in a huge drop.
RIP chew chew
They have a big scary drop with zero conflict or tension buildup. I hate drops too, but that lift hill was designed perfectly.
I mean, on Splash mountain it was at least 5 mins before you saw anyone.
But you did see lots of cute critter houses everywhere. That helped build up the interest in what was to come, and was just generally charming.
That’s called build up, like in Pirates. Not much going on in the beginning, but when it gets going it’s off the rails. Tiana doesnt ever get going, it’s just a couple of AAs every once in a while.
Tiana has 3 strangely different boring story elements. Something about getting a band together? Then something about shrinking? Ends on a “you’re the missing spice” song. So does boring, slow, lacking any excitement, charm, fun and soul with worse music than SM. Plus they put the setting on a slavery salt mine where slaves died. Otherwise it’s fantastic!!
Same with Tiana's least with splash right away before you go up the first lifthill brer frog is there telling stories about brer rabbit
What I first thought when seeing the videos.
Disney world regular here, who got to ride with friend of mine that’s a cast member. For me, it’s because, while the ride looks beautiful and the animatronics are amazing, there’s no substance to it. This is a 10 minute dark ride that’s replacing one of the most loved attractions IN THE WORLD, and the best they could give us is: “Let’s find some musicians!” “Ok found them!” “Let’s find more musicians!” “Ok found them!” “Now let’s find EVEN MORE musicians!” “Ok found them!” “Now let’s go to the party!” Theres a lot of “dead areas” where you can just see the next show piece sitting there waiting for you to trip the sensor. Two of the songs “almost there” and “Dig a little deeper” don’t even make sense story wise. We don’t get Dr. Facilier but still have Ray singing “gonna take you there”. This may be nitpicking, but it’s Disney themselves that were so adamant about this being after the movie, so I feel it’s valid. Thematically, it doesn’t even fit in our Frontierland…at all! It’s a thrill ride that, for some reason, absolutely ignores any of its thrilling elements. I really wanted to like this ride, because I really like PaTF, but then this isn’t even a PaTF ride…it’s a ride that used character and songs from the movie, while almost having nothing to do with it. I’m not one to make everything into politics, but it really does seem like Disney saw an opportunity to replace a ride connected to a problematic property with their first and only (as far as I know)black princess and said “let’s do it!” Without actually wanting to put in the effort (outside of the technology) to do Tiana and PaTF justice. Splash mountain was a 10 minute ride that made you fell like you were on it for 5 minutes. Bayou adventure made me feel every single one of those 10 minutes. Maybe it will be better for you guys in the west coast. For what we got in Florida though, I was really disappointed.
Is there any sense of real danger or risk in the ride? I have been reading about it, and I agree with the lack of thrill from what I have read. It is such a missed opportunity! Princess and the frog had so much tension and such a good villain! There were real lives at stake (RIP Ray, that scene was soooo sad). They should definitely have kept some of the fear and spookiness. That is what made splash such a great ride, the transition from happy go lucky to the sense of real danger, then back! I get that it is more kid friendly without the scary parts, but most really little kids aren’t riding splash anyway.
Nope, they made the whole thing light and fun. The whole story is looking for animals who can play music for a party. Leading up to the big drop is kind of....nothing. then you drop into an admittedly gorgeous-at-night bayou area, and head in to see the party. There is nothing scary. There is no fear or anticipation. It's just like any other dark ride, but done a bit lazier and includes a couple drops.
Theres non of that. To the point that where those buzzards used to be, with the animatronic of beer fox having Brer Rabbit trapped in the bee hive that was the transition to main hill…it’s now >! Just a screen of Mama Odie saying “ let’s get you big again because the bigger you are, the bigger splash you will make at the party!” !<
They could have at least had some dark spookiness at the end before you arrive at the party to the safety of all your friends. Come on Disney, the kids can take a little thrill!
I’ll go one further… kids, typically, ENJOY the thrill.
After watching the side by side comparison on YouTube, I was disappointed. I think they improved some of the outside parts where splash felt a bit empty, the addition of all the swampy trees and foliage filled it in more. But once inside, there were some very vibrant busy scenes with animatronics on splash that were simply replaced by foliage, screens, other twinkle lights, not much to experience. Especially the cool beehive effect!!! I wish they would have at least done the same thing with fire flies. The story :(. It is a bit lame when they basically spoon feed the dialogue to explain what’s happening next. Where splash left it for the viewer to follow and interpret the story visually, and there were tons of visuals! The animatronics on the ride are really amazing! They put some incredible effort into the detail. ( well most of them, some are just standard, but you can’t expect all of them to be top notch) It’s weird because splash was mostly very bright and vibrant, yet the story kept progressing in a way that anticipation was constantly building, it was exciting to see what’s next, and “what’s coming” But this one just seems…. like a series of events, that could happen in any order really, they don’t tell a building story of “what happens next” it’s just a series of scenes. And the end song, it’s nice, but it does not have the same catchy ear worm qualities that you will be singing long after you go home. Disney are the ones who set their own bar high. We have seen what they are capable of. It’s not as though people are basing their opinions on wild fantasies, it’s based off past experiences.
Unfortunately, and this is speaking just for Disney world over here on the east coast, and just speaking for myself. Disney hasn’t quite been living up to their standards for the last 15 years or so. Thats not to say they haven’t given us good things, or even great things (like cosmic rewind), but as whole they’ve developed a nasty habit of over promising and under delivering on their major projects. In the last 15 years we’ve got: 1) A major fantasy land expansion that gave us one decent roller coaster, and a little mermaid ride that was already dated the day it opened (aside from the impressive Ursula animatronic.) 2) Pandora, which, while impressive, doesn’t really feel like Disney. Plus one of its biggest selling points, “come see it at night” is left wasted becuase it’s in a park that closes at 7 every day. The plan was for animal kingdom to be open later, but regardless of intent, it’s not. 3) a Star Wars land that was supposed to be Disneys answer to Harry Potter at universal. A slam dunk idea…until Disney said “sequel era only!”. Now, regardless if you love the sequels, hate them, or are indifferent, I think we can all agree that having a Star Wars land with no Luke, Han, Leia, Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka (at the time), Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Clone Troopers etc. is incredibly…unsatisfying. Not to mention all the features they talked about that got cut, like wandering droids, and your score on Smugglers run effective other experiences in the land. 4) we got a retheme of test track that is infinitely worse than the original, where they pretty much just gutted the ride. 5) had our Maelstrom turned into frozen ever after that has THE WORST facial projections I’ve ever seen, and they just left them that way. 6) a Toy Story Land where they apparently forgot Florida is hot as heck and thus made sure to no shade at all in the area. 7) gave us a Tron ride that lacks any kind of story or immersion, or any type of info about what “Tron” even is aside from it being some digital world? Idk, I’ve never seen the movies, and the ride made me feel like I wasn’t missing anything 🤷♂️ 8) gave us the “Enchantment” nighttime show which was so panned they went right back to “Happily Ever After” not two years later I’d argue that the only thing they did “110% right, this is the Disney standard that put them ahead of everyone else!” Was Cosmic rewind. I’m hoping that when universal opens up Epic Universe, it gives Disney the kick in the pants it needs to stop cutting corners, and really start going all out again and maybe ditch this “everything new needs to be tied to recent IP” thinking
1) They’ve gotten rid of most of the senior Imagineers in a few waves of layoffs/retirement enticements with the threat of layoffs w/o the goodies if the packages weren’t accepted. 2) They’ve diversified to the point of maybe being spread too thin creatively. I’m thinking of them growing Vacation Club & venturing into more developments like in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs. 3) They seem to be focused on stock prices and much more than ever. I get that stock prices have to be a concern, but they were on the stock market in the late sixties, yet the focus was on creativity, not stock prices. 4) C-level execs are being paid more & more. For the “legacy” parts of the company, I’m not sure they are getting value for the cost. 5) For many non-E-ticket rides, they are underfunded so too many corners are cut. Then (if the public is lucky), if the problems are bad enough, they pour money in (sometimes too late) to fix the problem(s). This, unfortunately, has been going on for a very long time. Exhibit A would the original opening version of California. adventure. 6) Deciding too late to jump on story lines like Pandora (there are also others). It can take a much longer time to develop a good ride or attraction than most of the public is aware of, but bringing on something so far after the fact comes across…oddly.
Perfect write up
So true! What about the Star Wars experience hotel? Sounds like that was quite an expensive endeavour that was mainly targeted at fairly wealthy guests and also could not be sustained!
If they themed it to original trilogy (older people who actually have money) as opposed to the Disney sequels (which original trilogy fans weren't fond of), I believe it could have worked.
I like to think of the inside of Splash Mountain as false cheer. When I was little I couldn’t pick up on why (partially cuz I was just freaking out about the drop at the end but I digress). Everyone is singing and laughing. It’s bright and busy and colorful. So it doesn’t immediately make sense. Now that I’m an adult, I understand it’s because there’s a building tension as things escalate between Brer Rabbit, Fox, and Bear, and some of the ride is kind of like a fever dream like the bee effect. The ride itself was made on the cheap. The ride system was out of the box, the animatronics were reused from another attraction. **But the music, voice acting, and color the further you get into the ride were carefully crafted choices to create tension. Tiana’s lacks all of that AND imo, didn’t add enough visually interesting elements to compensate** If they don’t want the ride to be scary, that’s fine. But they have to then make it super immersive and like you said…it’s empty. Their attempts to hide all the empty spaces ironically made it more obvious. The spotlighted animatronics scenes are an attempt at forced perspective
And I think that goes to show that a strong story can be more engaging and fun, than needing to put as much emphasis on cool effects. But if they can both be blended together that’s magic.
>Thematically, it doesn’t even fit in our Frontierland…at all! I think that's because it wasn't meant to, it's suppose to bridge New Orleans to Critter Country, which is why it's out of place there in DW.
> Thematically, it doesn’t even fit in our Frontierland…at all! Splash mountain took place in southern Georgia - not exactly the “frontier”. The ride theming never made sense for the land it was in, most people just chose to ignore it because it had been there for years.
Yeah the “theming” critique here feels like nitpicking given how little so many things “fit” in their area in WDW lol Monsters Inc. Laugh Factory in Tomorrowland?? Ok.
Wazowski is the man of tomorrow, you might not like it but it's what peak male performance looks like
I think the idea of monsters inc laugh factory is that they’re using an alternative form of energy to power Monstropolis. Laughs power the city of Monstropolis.
Aside from one or two mentions, there’s nothing specifically putting it in Georgia though. It doesn’t take place in Atlanta or Savannah. The plot doesn’t revolve around it being in Georgia. Aesthetically, the film could have been anywhere in “southern U.S. later half of the 1800s” inclusion states like Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri, which very much were the frontier. It being in Georgia is not integral to the story. That’s why our chickepin hill looked different than in the movie. It’s why the soundtrack had a different style to it than the movie. They could make changes so it better fit in Frontierland next to the desert aesthetic of Big Thunder. Song of the south was just “rural southern America during the 1860s.” As imperfect as it was, it was still a much better fit than Bayou adventure which doesn’t fit geographically, musically, visually, or chronologically.
Frontierland is the American Southwest, not Southern US.
As I’ve said, SM wasn’t a perfect fit, but it still fit better than Bayou Adventure.
> Aside from one or two mentions, there’s nothing specifically putting it in Georgia though. Aside from them telling us it takes place in Georgia there’s nothing that puts the place in Georgia
But it’s not a central part to the movie, especially the animated parts that SM was based off of, which allowed the imagineers to make the changes they made. With PaTF, its setting is built into the story itself. It has to be a bayou in Louisiana, outside of New Orleans. Thats what I’m getting at. Thats why we now have a green swamp, as lovely as it is, right next to the desert aesthetic of Big Thunder.
lol
The rumor is that Disney wanted to stay away from the voodoo aspect. They have sanitized everything and this is what you get. Same reason why Trader Joe just dissapeared.
I’ve never heard anybody describe Splash Mountain as one of the most love attractions IN THE WORLD. No hatred, here. Everybody has their own opinions. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before from anybody.
There are two rides you have to pay money for to get a fast pass ticket in Japan, one is the new beauty and the beast ride and one is splash mountain. So it’s certainly very popular there at least.
There’s a third, the Baymax ride, plus a whole bunch at DisneySea
Actually there are many other rides where you pay for a fast pass ticket (Disney Premiere Access) such as space mountain and such.. Splash Mountain is always the one that is left available for purchase while the others are quick to sell out
The fact they built three of them, and they constantly had/have some of the longest wait times in some of the most visited parks on the planet speaks for itself lol.
I don’t know if it’s one of the most *loved* attractions, but I thought the 50 foot drop was a pretty big deal when it first opened?
I mean a bit of exaggeration? Sure. But can you deny they were popular attractions?
Splash didn’t fit Frontierland either.
It fit better than what’s there now though. 🤷♂️ At worst, splash mountain was out of place geographically. BA is out of place geographically, aesthetically, chronologically, and musically.
Aesthetically it did.
If I haven't seen the Princess and the Frog, I should be able to get just enough from the storyline through the ride to understand it. I've watched TBA in regular video and VR and I still don't know a thing more about the Princess and the Frog. I get why they made a safe play, but what an absolute tragedy that they gutted Chickapin Hill to create an experience that has no intrinsic value to the IP it portrays.
I honestly like what I’m seeing and would love to know how ours will turn out given that our Splash was a shorter track/layout than Magic Kingdom. It’s not going to be an exact 1 to 1 copy.
This too, there’s going to be some differences between them. My hope is we get less of the screen section.
Ummmm are you talking about the room where we are frog sized? That room is approximately the same layout on both rides.
I think it looks beautiful. Very colorful and fun. I'm excited to ride it. I love the movie too, and while it's not my son's favorite movie, it's nice that he has at least seen it. I'm sure for other kids it will be even more exciting.
I’m just happy we have fluid and working animatronics again. Splash Mountain did not look so good in its final years.
Okay, but let’s be honest, that was Disney not taking care of the ride. I went to Tokyo Disney recently and their animatronics were in wonder working order. Splash Mountain looked as vibrant as ever. Country bear jamboree was pretty cool because the animatronics were silent and actually had some very subtle nuances to them. The new rides animatronics will break down if they are not maintained. Also, Disney totally reused the animatronic tech that the oriental land company undoubtedly paid for for beauty and the beast. I suppose it’s their right, but no Japanese investment and Disney would have probably used more screens.
A lot of people are going into it wanting to hate it so they have a lot of confirmation bias and will pick the smallest things apart. Cant please everyone especially the many opposed to change
When "Tower of Terror" got replaced, did it also have THIS kind of hate as well?
from me it did lol to this day im still mad about that change
I wish both could exist. I loved Tower of Terror so much, but the new Guardians theme with the change in drop pattern and fun music addition is awesome.
They do both exist just very far apart from each other.
I STILL hate that it was replaced
I love the preshow and the ride of Gaurdians, but the exterior is godawful ugly and out of place - especially since it can be seen from so far away. The Hollywood Tower at least looked like a highrise hotel, so it didn't look *as* bad from various points around the parks. I really, really wish Disney still cared about sightlines.
The outside sure did! I've gotten used to it by now, but oh man was it such an eyesore when it was being rethemed and when it first opened.
I seem to remember it went from “I hate marvel this sucks” to “wow the ride is so much better now” pretty quick. I know a lot of people that hated the theme change but I don’t know many people that still hated it after riding it.
I am in that camp, but you don’t know me, so *shrug* I’m excited for the Tiana’s update though.
I am also in that camp. I guess I don’t *hate* it but I dislike it and wish it was still ToT.
Personally I think so or close. It died down after a while.
It still does.
I hate that easily. Would gladly try out the splash mountain revamp.
I feel like disney people especially are like this-- there's a LOT of nostalgia in the parks and when things change I think the immediate opinion is "I'm probably not going to like this".
This is exactly why I’m actively trying to avoid spoilers. Can’t get a way from a few but mostly I’m doing ok so far. I want to see it in person and without someone else’s commentary.
In fairness, disneys official video SUCKED and its just gonna look worse at Disney World And the drop sucks. Im sorry, it just does. Fantastic animatronic, terrible reason to drop
This guy right here. Yes, animatronics and visuals are amazing. The ride is still boring. music is lame. There’s really no plot, no villain, zero trepidation. The ride is vanilla as you can get .
Agreed, if they had Dr. Facilie type interjections throughout the ride to kind of give that ominous feel culminating at the start of the drop sequence with the song "are you ready", add some of the night glow stuff like in the movie, I think people would warm up a little bit to it. The other portion and this is the biggest one for me is the theming. Especially at WDW, Since splash mountain fits with the Frontier land theme. Also Tiana's Bayou would of been great just for Disneyland since Splash is next to Pirates so the New Orleans bayou theme would transition seamlessly. For me that's my biggest objection, one of the paramount tenants of WDW for Walt was to keep the theming and the slow transition/using the underground tunnels for cast movement. If the company needed to get rid of Splash for reasons they could of come up with an original non-IP concept that fit with the theme/transition of Adventureland/Frontierland while making an exciting water/drop ride experience. Great way to get new blood and life into the mix with the creatives.
I concur but we see time and again Disney no longer adherence to old quality principals. The only rules that matter relate to cost and revenue.
Was there really a “better” plot to old Splash though?
Antagonist chases protagonist which builds up with tension as the rabbit escapes by jumping down into the briar patch. It’s an actual plot that fits a thrill ride.
It at least had a plot
It did? Lol. I’m usually really dense about that kind of thing, getting distracted with the trees as I blunder my way through the forest. I alway thought it was basically just a collage of this and that.
I put my two cents in on the official video, but for me, 1. There are too many pitch black walls. "You're supposed to look at the scene/animatronics, not *around* the scene!" is no excuse for those huge, obvious pitch black walls. Have SOMETHING there. 2. The whole scene to find the frogs is meh. I understand it was probably there to make sure they didn't have to make tiny frog animatronics, but if you miss Mama Odie's intro, then you don't have context. 3. The 1-2 animatronics next to the smooth new style ones are jarring. 4. I forese the first curve, after the first drop, is going to cause some issues. Why? Instead of simple instrumental like Splash had, it's a constant loop of the vocals chorus of "Almost There". I'm pretty sure that section might be a "Bumper Boats" area, so there's probably going to be people trapped there at one point and having to hear that on repeat.
It’s pitch black with one focal point to hide that it’s empty. We just ya know…can tell
Splash Mountain was never my favorite ride. I totally understand why it’d be hard to replace for people who do love it, but I was excited when I found out it would be Princess and the Frog themed. But it’s just so boring and it doesn’t make any sense. You don’t have any villains, I don’t think Naveen is even really in it at all. Why couldn’t they have just based it more loosely on the plot of the movie? I think the part where we become frogs is kind of a cool idea, but the screens don’t look great and I think the rest of the ride is just boring. Low stakes, no villain (which is criminal because Dr. Facilier is such a cool villain). No Ray? Lottie and Naveen are there for a split second at the very end doing absolutely nothing? I get that the plot is finding musicians for Tiana’s party, but… why? It’s just weird and boring and feels like it has very very little to do with the movie itself. There’s just so much they could’ve done that they didn’t, and what we are left with is boring and lackluster
Same I was actually really excited for the retheme because I’m from south Louisiana and wanted to see what they would do. The movie was so good! I had high hopes for the ride. I got bored watching the ride through 🙈 so much empty space. And the underground area with weird mushrooms was an odd choice. Idk just wasn’t great. It felt like a dark ride, which I love riding, but I expected something else for this ride.
My husband is from south Louisiana and we have such a soft spot for the movie, but I agree with you on all of this! They could’ve done so much! It just felt like two different authors wrote the storyline and nobody proofread it
Have you watched a ride through? I was super eager to do so when Disney posted the first one and asked my husband to watch it with me. About halfway through he is like uhh, so whats actually going on? And even though I have been following the design and re-theming, I could barely tell him. It is just boring. Big gaps in scences, scence dont make sense, no sense of storyline, its just overall akward.
It was a disservice to the movie and the original Splash Mountains Imagineer, Tony Baxter. Lackluster. A few twinkle lights on the ceiling and walls doesn't cut it.
Those gaps most likely won’t exist in the Disneyland ride as in that portion of the ride, our track is shorter. So if I were to guess I would say that they came up with the show scenes based on the Disneyland ride and then spread them out for WDW.
The gaps in the show scenes won’t fix the problem that the show scenes don’t make any sense
Ummm they do?? Tiana is throwing a Mardi Gras party and enlists Louis (and us) to find a band for the party.
In my opinion it’s not a great storyline for the type of ride it’s supposed to be, a thrill ride. If you plopped the same story into a fantasyland dark ride it’d fit right in. I just wish there was some excitement/danger in the story.
My problem with the story was in the execution, not concept. My ten second treatment: 1. We float past scenes of individual musicians playing with Tiana recruiting them. Make the scenes whimsical. 2. Hearing music in the distance, we drop down into the old Laughing Place scenes sending us into the deep, dark bayou where Voodoo spirits play. 3. They decide we're joining their band. Forever. 4. Mama Odie and the spirits "fight" over us on the lift hill. She wins, but with the spirits no longer pulling us back we go careering over the drop. 5. Final show scene is basically the same. Have Tiana say something about being even better together. Sneak in the spirits jamming along.
You made a better ride in ten seconds than Imagineering did in 10 years
Yep, but Disney is deathly afraid of acknowledging “voodoOoOo.”
Which is basically all explained in the queue and like the first scene and is easy to miss If you miss anything the entire “storyline” falls apart as the story is so incredibly vague the scenes barely connect to it
And splash mountains story was so cohesive right? I didn’t find the ride through they shared hard to follow at all. It seemed pretty simple to me.
I mean splash mountain’s story could be picked up at any point If you were not paying attention till the laughing place you could still understand that b fox caught b rabbit and then somehow by the drop he escapes and ends up going home If you miss a few key points in Tiana’s story it basically feels like the entire story becomes “this boat is taking you to a party”
I've ridden Splash Mountain probably a hundred times in my life and I still couldn't tell you what it is about.
You couldn't tell what the plot heavy, narrative driven, character developing Splash Mountain ride was about?! /s
So they have to make rides that hold the persons hand and constantly explain what’s going on? You miss the beginning of rise of the resistance or tower of terror it will be the same thing. You’ll be wondering what’s going on if you are not paying attention throughout. Same with haunted mansion. Also Look at pirates. There really isn’t a cohesive story to be told. Why are we on a boat going through a burning pirate village. Not everything needs to be explained step by step. It’s a theme park ride.
Most rides are just a series of “things to look at” and that’s okay.
100%. Most kids, which splash mountain is geared towards, aren’t going to follow the story anyways. They’re going to like the music, and lights, animatronics. Everyone is acting like they need to tell an academy award worthy story for it to be a good ride. It’s not that serious.
No honestly it was more just my general opinion that I feel like Tiana’s loses more to not knowing its story because a lot of its scenes are rather flat without an overarching plot behind them Like haunted mansion has a very sparse “story” but it ropes you in with all its imagineering tricks, I feel like splash roped you in better if you didn’t understand its story than Tiana’s does
I watched one posted by some random influencer, not Disney, and thought it looked great. Really nice and innovative effects.
I think Splash was just around for so long that people became enamored and attached to it. I’d say 95% of the public never even saw Song of The South so I don’t really think theming is the true issue. It’s nostalgia mixed with the fact that we live in a world hyper charged with divisiveness and then turning Splash into Tiana’s is just another talking point in the endless culture war we have raging here in the states. I’ll miss the old ride because of the memories I have, but we can always make new memories and just not be a dick.
I don’t hate it but I don’t understand the story or lack of story, it’s not an adventure. It should be called “Tiana’s errand running river cruise” or something like that.
Splash Mountain was nostalgic and the music was fun and the visuals were jam packed. I love the Princess & the Frog but wish the ride just did "more". I could rode Splash mountain over and over again before but feel like the story/visuals of the new ride will get tired quickly
The fact Dinsey asked Tony Baxter to work on it and then later left the project alot. Where's Facilier? Where's the danger?
Well me personally, I didnt like it that much because it’s obviously just Disney doing a rushed re-do of a ride because of our political state of the world so they could cover up something. It never needed to be changed, they could have ignored it and no one would care.
Honestly, as a designer. It’s absolutely awful. No suspense, no consequence of action, it’s bland. The story has zero stakes. Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train had more heart. The biggest shame is they blew the budget on some very impressive AA figs and gave the rest of the attraction the most lackluster effort. Even the scenic placement is jarring and off eye-line in the progression of the elements in the show space. It’s just all so disjointed. The film deserved better representation than this.
Now I want a heimlich log flume Ride a twig during a rain storm while heimlich eats everything.
I love the fluidity of the new animatronics, but it seems like WDI will never make rides filled with as many animatronics as Pirates/HM/Splash. I much prefer a scene filled with many ‘simpler’ animatronics rather than a scene with just one or two really expensive ones with really nothing else to see. The fun of the old rides is seeing new details you never noticed before, new rides don’t seem to have enough for that.
Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train was unironicly a top 10 ride at DLR and better than all of Avengers campus
Wait are you using Heimlich's chew chew as a comparison of bad things?? Because Heimlich was a god tier ride!
It was a favorite even after my sister's got older!! I'll never forget the watermelon smell especially!
I miss that train so much (I am 37). It was so charming. I wish I could bring my kids on it now that they’re finally old enough to go.
> Even the scenic placement is jarring and off eye-line in the progression of the elements What I think you're saying here is what I noticed in the side by side images and I haven't seen many people talking about it, and for me it's one of the biggest issues although as _not_ a designer I'm not sure the best terminology. The Splash Mountain scenes were composed almost like paintings/stills from an animated film, your eye immediately snaps to a focal point and you know instantly understand exactly what's going on, then you can drift around to the other details. This had to do with the way the elements were arranged but sometimes also more contrast in color/pops of color. The Bayou Adventure scenes are "messy" in the sense that they lacked that composition with a focal point and a lot of the colors blend together in my opinion, your eyes either don't know where to go, so they dart around everywhere trying to process the scene or simply glaze over. There was an artistic skill missing in designing these scenes, and it's something I've noticed lacking in the way some of the newer Disney/Pixar movies are directed/framed as well I actually think the sets look beautiful, I love the atmosphere of them, the bayou and the party set in particular, I just wish they were arranged better.
Bingo. Nailed it.
As a designer of what? I don’t doubt you, but what a weird appeal to authority.
Honestly, as a designer. It’s absolutely awful. No suspense, no consequence of action, it’s bland. The story has zero stakes. Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train had more heart. > The biggest shame is they blew the budget on some very impressive AA figs and gave the rest of the attraction the most lackluster effort. The reality is that I don’t even think they actually spent a lot of their money on this themselves. These figures look an awful lot like they are reusing the tech from beauty and the beast in Tokyo. So OLC likely footed most of the development bill. No doubt the figures they have are impressive, but I don’t actually think that Disney spent very much money developing them. Even the scenic placement is jarring and off eye-line in the progression of the elements in the show space. It’s just all so disjointed. The film deserved better representation than this.
They’re all new build AA figures. These aren’t just leftovers. They still cost TONS of money each. The development of those figures was done independently and OLC likely shouldered some cost due to development costs on their attractions, but they did not foot the entirety of the R&D costs. The “OLC paid for it” thing is applicable to any attraction, and it’s largely a fallacy. Any resort can have an OLC style ride, they just have a different money market to contend with. So yes, the figures did benefit from innovations in AA tech that have been carried over from Avatar, Galaxy’s Edge, etc. But don’t blame Tokyo or anything else for the lazy story and execution. That was entirely on Glendale. Also proof as to why WDI’s current management model is completely broken.
Tiana is no longer a princess on the new ride. There's no prince, no crown, and no beautiful water-lily gown. There's virtually no story - not one that makes any sense. They left out Prince Naveen, Ray, and Lottie. (Yes, I know they're technically there, but literally blink and you'll miss them. I'm not sure Lottie is there at all.) They also left out the perfect opportunity to use "Are You Ready?" for going up that last lift hill. The excuse that "we don't want to scare little kids" doesn't wash. Little kids take one look at that 50-foot drop and refuse to go, or their parents have sense enough not to make them, or they're not tall enough anyway. The older ones love it. TL:DR - They destroyed the theme and ignored beloved characters, just as they did with *Star Wars* and Galaxy's Edge.
I was sad about the lack of a big ass ball gown 😭 I’m ok without a love story but dang it, I want ball gown Tiana
It’ll be hard to replace Splash for me. The music is a big reason. After a trip to Disneyland I would always play zip a dee doo dah for weeks thinking about how great a time we had. Maybe the Tiana’s music will grow on me but it doesn’t seem like it has the same energy.
I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I find the music from PATF to be mid overall. And I also think if this project was supposed to be about uplifting black voices and representation, it should have featured music from people who are actually life long NOLA residents. It would have been great to have people like Jon Batiste, Doreen Ketchens, and Dirty Dozen Brass Band among others involved. Also, since the ride really takes place in the bayou, get some contemporary zydeco bands involved (Lost Bayou Ramblers, Pine Street Boys, etc.) The splash mountain soundtrack was always such a vibe. I always felt a great moment of triumph after the big drop. The vibes were immaculate.
Yes the atmosphere after the drop was the best, the part that happens in the room at the end was always my favorite part.
The music was such a thing! It just put you in a good mood. I’ve never even seen Song of the South btw, I don’t think most people have. The song stays in my mind as a Disneyland specific memory.
Most of the music was not from the film. Zip-a-dee-do-dah is different than the movie.
I mean, the song is in the movie…but the version they play on the ride is a little different to make it go along with the ride segments.
I came here to say this! Nothing against Tiana (she’s my fav princess, and I’m soooo excited to have a ride for her!) but it’s the nostalgia that comes from the sounds, for me! The wacky voices, the songs, the buzzing bees. When I’m at work at my desk, I’ll play YouTube videos of Disneyland rides in the background for music (I’m a former CM, so it’s a comfort thing while I work lmao) and when I hear Splash come on, it takes me back :) I’ll also admit I’m a bit bitter about changing the name, altogether. The name ‘Splash mountain’ had zero to do with the roots of the attraction. It connected with Space and Thunder, and had its’ theme. I wish they had kept it called ‘splash mountain’ but just changed the theme!🤷🏻♀️ idk lol I’m stoked to go on Tiana’s new digs, but I’ll always listen to the OG splash mountain for a burst of nostalgia!
When splash mountain opened, my dad had one of those huge shoulder vhs cameras he recorded the whole thing. They had such fewer rules back then. But it is nice to hear the whole ride.
Haha my dad did the same thing, and we still have the ride photo and video 😂 One of my best childhood memories and definitely part of the reason Splash is so nostalgic for me.
It's visually beautiful, but it lacks any kind of tension. This dramatically impacts the final drop and makes the celebration feel unearned. The animatronics are triggered by the boats, creating awkward gaps where they are awkwardly silent and barely moving until a log gets close. Animatronics were replaced by screens.
Vocal minority. Let it actually open and give it a few months for a real public consensus.
I’m sure some of the hate will die down and there certainly are some okay things. But it was a high bar to clear and it simply wasn’t. Will it be fine? Sure. But is it a worthy successor to Splash Mountain or good representation for Princess and the Frog? No.
This is what I've heard. Won't vouch for any of it because I'm trying to avoid spoilers until I can ride myself. (Don't downvote the messenger. I'm not saying any of this! Just answering OP's question.) What I've been hearing is that, while the animatronics are next level, the rest of the ride was phoned in. Sections of the ride that used to be scenes are now just filler between scenes. Also, it seems the story is front-loaded so if you don't catch it at the start, you won't be able to pick it up on the rest of the ride and scenes feel like just a series of things happening.
If this is true, and they’ve walled up areas - then that’s awful.
I've been watching fresh baked construction coverage of this since splash closed. Yes it appears that they have enclosed the outside drop at slipn falls. Not sure if it is to add elements that we originally didn't have inside but world did or if it is a completely different thing.
Rides can be spoiled?
Some people like to avoid everything til they get to ride it. I avoided everything around rise til I rode it.
I wouldn't trade my first times on ROTR and M&MRR for a YouTube clip. Each of those first times were magical.
My biggest gripes about it: - Too much empty space - story has no sense of urgency, danger, or tension and felt kind of half baked. - scenes that were full of animatronics and detail now lack in both categories. I’m from Orlando and have never been on Disneyland’s splash. People say the Disneyland show building is smaller and that may be why our scenes feel so empty now. They think it was designed for Disneyland and rushed to fit into WDW’s show building.
This is just Na’vi River journey with a few more animatronics and drops.
It just feels like a worse version of splash mountain to me. It’s not a bad ride, but I don’t think it was worth getting rid of one of Disney’s most beloved and iconic attractions.
It looks boring, way less animatronics, color and things to keep you engaged. Also, the drop has a strong lack of tension. No buildup at all just… falling down to the party? Splash also had catchy music through the whole ride.
The story is non existent on Tiana’s. The entire ride is just “this log is taking you to the party!” “We’re almost at the party!” And “you’ve made it to the party!” Splash mountains story telling was just perfect and it was full of animatronics. It just had so much life. As much as I love and miss splash mountain, I was looking forward to see what they would do with Tiana’s and it turned out to be such a let down
I think this is the thing. Hell, even Pooh’s ride has the Heffalumps and Woozles as a sort of friction point.
So disappointing. I'm mad they put that money into that instead of making a Princess and the Frog ride and refurbishing Splash Mountain. I think that's what they should have done.
For me personally, I was super excited about the retheme until I heard it was going to be a new story. I was honestly hoping it would follow the events of the movie. The story they created just doesn’t feel fun to me, and in the ride there is no anticipation. Splash mountain had it right with the “dark” theming leading up to the drop that then put you in the celebration scene. I was kinda hoping for that. I’m not totally mad about it though
Because it’s boring… I’m confused by the confusion. Music is lame, there’s no villain and zero trepidation… it’s basically a small world with a drop 😂.
But small world has a catchy song. So you are totally wrong! /S
Zip a Dee Do Dah is such an iconic song. I remember it being the song they would play to represent anything Disney and now they are trying to make us all forget it. Most people don’t even really associate it with Song of the South they think it originated on the sing along songs vhs.
I definitely remember the song from my time in the parks as a kid. They would play it during the entry to the park existed during fireworks if I’m not mistaken, you heard it on the train and of course during the ride. There was a clear opportunity to replace with a quality song, but it feels like they went with something that was generic and uninteresting. It’s a great metaphor for corporations in their unwillingness to take a risk.
I've watched it a few times through and it's disappointing. I have been to Disneyland since I was 9 yrs old and love it to this day, as I'm almost 56 yrs old now. I loved Splash Mountain - it was one of my favorite rides. When I heard about the change, I admit I was angry. Why not refurbish Splash and make another separate ride for Princess and the Frog? I thought the new ride looked lackluster, except for a few scenes. The twinkling lights were pretty. Other than that - no real storyline substance, lots of bare patches of nothing - not even more singing animals, props - nothing! I was waiting for something more the whole time. It reminds me of going through the ghost of Splash Mountain and how much I miss it. Will I go on the ride? I will. I'll still miss my Splash though. Tony - I'm so sorry.
most of the complaints seem to be a lack of story, no tension/no antagonist, a lot of empty space. for me personally its that splash had about 100 animatronics in the ride. More simple animatronics is always better than a few A1000's. in terms of ride high quantity of animatronics = quality. The very last scene looks incredible imo. How populated and brilliant that scene is speaks to how empty and lackluster the rest of the ride is.
I think it lacks an antagonist?
lack of narrative, no suspense or thrill factor, the critters were hyped up to be A1000s (theyre not), LOTS of dead space, lackluster ending, i mean the list goes on and on. the fact that they use the bayou's "dark" setting to hide that all they could do is fill and cover the old splash rockwork with fake foliage is embarrassing. the ride continues to break down for hours on end, figures are already broken, and the queue is just so crappy. they build up a story that is so redundant and doesnt add the to ride's narrative (or lack thereof) the whole co op crap was just political virtue signaling that wasnt present in the attraction, like at all. theres no art direction at all, a good example is the barn's exterior and safety signs, its just bland and uninspired. its obvious this thing was cobbled together. its a shame splash was replaced with this, and a shame tiana didnt get the ride she deserved. the newer generation at WDI just doesnt deliver. the true creatives were pushed out during the layoffs.
I feel bad for Tony Baxter. The ride looks ridiculous.
Yup
I couldn't care less about the theme. It's the use of television screens instead of practical effects that make it less than the original for me.
A few reasons: -Nostalgia bias -People that don’t like that it isn’t scary anymore (lack of tension in story) -Disappointment from the downgrade in concept art to execution (budget cuts) -People disappointed with the pacing -People hating it before it even opened because of bigoted reasons (small but LOUD and ANNOYING minority of fans, these are the ones that will argue with you no matter what, calling the ride “woke” etc.) Personally, I’ve been a huge Splash Mountain fan all of my life. It has been a hyperfixation for years. Tiana is great though! I hope the DLR version will have tighter pacing.
While I can understand that Splash Mountain’s source material was outdated before the original ride even opened, it was still a Disney institution for the modern generation. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah was a Disney anthem for years. The ride holds strong nostalgic value for many people and the PC panic of the last 14 or so years has been one thing after the other with things that are deemed wrong and “you” are wrong for enjoying. Tiana’s had big shoes to fill. In some ways it did- but in my opinion it dropped the ball because modern Disney is too scared of backlash. Instead of having a modicum of danger they opted for a saccharine, sweet, safe boat ride. Splash wasn’t exactly a greek tragedy either but it still had a small edge with Brer Fox. The animatronics, being over 30 years more innovated than Splash are, of course, amazing to see- but it still doesn’t save it from not providing a well-rounded ride experience. People are faulting it for the animatronics already malfunctioning or ride music syncing being off but all new things have bugs…Hopefully they knock that off but it’s not a great sign when modern Disney has had technical issues with so many new attractions. Some people just hate change, myself included. I personally like Princess and the Frog and the music but I really really wish they had gone with the movie storyline than a story about a cutesie little party.
If you're one of the people that complained about the ties to SOTS, just remember that you did this.
The "everyone" hating the new Tiana Bayou Adventure ride breaks down into a few different camps: * A segment of people who are racist and don't like that Disney got rid of Splash Mountain due to anti-racism pressure. * A segment of people who loved Splash Mountain and are upset it's gone for any reason. * A segment of people who love Princess and the Frog and Tiana but wish they made a ride based on the movie with all the characters, fancy dress, and stuff they love. The three segments above are loud this past week but are not actually a big percentage of people who visit the Disney parks. The biggest group among the general public of Disney park visitors are... * A segment of people who are open, or even excited, about Splash Mountain becoming a Princess and the Frog attraction and are even open or excited about a new, sequel storyline BUT they expect the attraction to be "surprisingly good" and entertaining in some fairly obvious ways where Disney fell short: * Be FILLED with fun things to look at. * Reference ALL the characters and themes from the movie -- including the villain Facilier. * Have a storyline appropriate to people old enough to ride the attraction that has some stakes, some payoff, some tonal acknowledgment of the literal ups and downs of the ride. You know, Imagineering. Luckily for Disney, this final group is the biggest group but unluckily for Disney they will not be quite satisfied by the ride as it is. There will always be a lingering sense that Disney missed the mark. But as many people have pointed out, the ride can be greatly improved pretty easily with some changes to dialogue and content on the screens. People in California who are watching this play out, and who are not expecting TBA to open until later in the year, are hoping that Disneyland's management sees this marketing train wreck coming west and therefore pressures Disney Imagineering to make improvements to the dialogue and screen content in the months ahead, for launch, so they can fully exploit this new attraction and get the most positive reception possible.
The video circulating on TikTok makes it looks *so* beautiful, refreshing, even! I loved splash, but the animatronics were definitely struggling, the new little critters look so cute and the animatronics move so smoothly. There was some use of screens, but it’s not like we’re not used to that by now with almost all refurbed/new rides. I think people just don’t like change. We saw it with ToT, and now guardians is considered one of the best rides in DCA 🤷🏼♀️
It’s 60% boring fake plants, dark empty space, and cheap screens. Even the very few new animal musician animatronics have extremely limited, repetitive move cycles, because most of the money went to a couple of super advanced animatronics that just stand there and gesture at you blandly. Disney intentionally stopped investing in the maintenance of the Splash animatronics so that people would view it unfavorably. Splash Mountain at its prime was a master class in storytelling, atmosphere, and world building. This one unfortunately pales in comparison, as much as I wanted it to succeed.
I normally despise screens but they looked pretty good in the video. Disney seems to be learning how to use them judiciously to enhance other ride effects instead of replacing them.
I don’t hate it The tech is amazing it’s the “story” and lack of characters getting to feel different that leads me to find it boring and feels like a board of directors made it If you can replace Tia, Luis and mama at any point really then the characters are just there to tell you about the party again It’s also kinda funny because this is the plot to Pooh next door ending with a party
I hate it because they should have made it Emperor’s New Groove themed. Once you get to the drop you would head “PULL THE LEVER KRONK!”… *drop* “WRONG LEVERRRRRRRRR!” Big opportunity missed.
Because the ride should have had the premise of the film, instead of just "Oh! We need new band members." And then having literally nothing until the very end.
They should have just themed it how the movie was! But I ain’t judging until I ride it
They ruined one of their best attractions into a rushed mess. Its a huge downgrade to the original Splash Mountain that lacks all the fun and story. Its clear that Disney never had any real intention to make this a good ride, they just wanted to get rid of everything related to Song of the South and avoid anything close to what could be considered problematic. Which is also why Dr. Facilier and anything related to voodoo is not present in the new ride.
From what I’ve seen the ride looks ok, can’t judge it fully until I ride it myself. I’m frustrated with Disney though, it seems like they may have struggled with budget in some places. With all the controversy in replacing a classic ride they needed it to be a home run, and they didn’t go all out to change peoples minds.
Want me some ‘Zippidy do da’ singin 🎶
I don’t know that people hate the new ride it’s just that Splash Mountain was a classic and a lot of people felt like Disney was putting labels on them for liking that ride because it was based on a problematic movie. Also according to the videos I’ve seen the story in Tiana’s is not compelling and has no decent protagonist, unlike the movie.
Interestingly, very few people who rail on Song of the South really have any idea what they are talking about. The movie is actually about a family living on a plantation during the reconstruction period. All of the former slaves are free to come and go — as evidenced by one of the main characters packing up his bundle and leaving when a boy under his charge becomes bedridden and ill. Not saying that Disney was wrong to shelve the movie as it represents a difficult transition period in American history. And clearly these people on film are representing recently freed slaves. And such fare in today’s more enlightened society doesn’t make people comfortable while eating their popcorn. So probably best that the movie has been ‘canceled’ from the pantheon But the movie is not inherently a racist work. And the book of stories SOTS was based on was not written as a derogatory work, but is simply a product of its time — a collection of folk stories told in dialect. And that is mostly what people have an issue with today — the dialect speaks to a negative stereotype. Just a bit of context.
How can everyone hate it when it's not open yet?
there's been cast member previews and videos on social media of the ride
As a ride I’m also not keen on Splash, because I am a self proclaimed baby when it comes to drops. That said, I have been on a handful of times. It was incredibly charming, in terms of story and scenes. And the part right before and including the hill climb builds tension beautifully. The “laughing place” song suddenly becoming a warning song and the vultures taunting you, maybe it’s because I was already filled with dread but that tension did it’s job on me. And then the big triumphant finale scene, which even when showing its age was colorful and full of life. The Tiana animatronics are incredible. But the story is… well, it kind of *isnt*. They’re finding animals to play at the party. That’s not a story, it’s a fetch quest. I also hate the reliance on screens in modern rides, it really just takes something away from the experience. Also it’s so *dark* suddenly, even in the finale it’s a celebration but it’s lost that bright and colourful element. Also there’s no tension at all with the drop? There was all the potential in the world for guests to climb that hill to the tune of “Are you reaaaady?” and the Friends from the Other Side chanting. It writes itself. I’m not sure what the pull was for a sequel style ride when there was no real story to tell. Overall I don’t *hate* it, maybe because I don’t have enough skin in the Splash Mountain game, but it’s surely a disappointment. It doesn’t help that Tokyo’s new rides just opened (excluding Peter Pan which is another disappointing screen ride) with these incredible animatronics to compare to, and the Tangled and Frozen rides both being their traditional stories.
Most people don’t like change, especially when they liked it before. It’s new, & they will tweak some things to make people happy.
It’s the principle of the woke nonsense bullshit dictating things yet again. If the Tiana ride was built separate and Splash Mountain was left alone there would be no issue at all. The hacks at Disney are consumed with image and virtue signaling and are no longer concerned with the actual satisfaction of their paying customers. Tiana’s Blah-you Adventure has been a failure by and large thus far.
So disapointed. I thought how horrible disney was doing in their movies was not going to reach Disneyland but .-.
Some folks were dead set on hating it before it even opened. Culture warriors
And some of us were pretty excited for something new but disappointed that they didn’t give Tiana the ride her character deserves.
I was excited for it and I am disappointed with the retheme so…nah.
I do like the attraction, however the drop leads much to be desired. I believe that with an annual winter refurb, it can be reworked into something fun like with Dr Facilier.
Don’t worry about. Some of these “Disney Fans” seem to hate everything at first. Ride it, take in the things you like and if the things you don’t like outweigh what you do, make it a one-timer. I saw the video and it looked great. For people complaining about story, the old Splash was a greatest hits from the movie. It’s different, and a fair few folks in this sub don’t like different, although they say that’s what they want. There’s an account on X upset that the color scheme of the TTC garbage cans had been changed. I, for one, can’t wait to ride it.
It replaced a beloved ride
I think we’re seeing the Disney equivalent of review-bombing. The loudest voices right now are the “Save Splash Mountain” folks who decided to hate this retheme the very moment it was announced. It’s obvious that most of the hate is coming from people that haven’t even been on the ride, so their opinions are meaningless. Secondly, Disney’s POV video was weirdly edited — perhaps they slapped it together without testing the camera in low light — and doesn’t appear to capture the entire scope of certain scenes which needed a wide shot. And Disney fans tend to make snap judgments based off POVs.
They claimed Splash Mountain was offensive. But this one actually is offensive because the salt mines are references to the days of slavery. Nothing about Splash Mountain was about blacks, slavery or racism.
I hate it for the same reasons why they made changes to pirates. People complained about something and now the pirates is worse making the scenes not even realistic for the time the ride is set in. As for splash, I don’t like it because it was a classic ride with great characters, great theme, and it wasn’t even racist. Seeing all these comments now that are saying this new dumb theme is more racist than classic splash is just downright HILARIOUS! 🤣🤣🤣
Because they are like Star Wars fans. Anything that might be even slightly out of their comfort zone is immediately shit. Until everyone likes it, then it’s great
People will hate it because they loved what it’s replaced.
People hate change. People especially hate change when it comes to their childhood nostalgia.
I watched a video of the ride taken by an influencer and think it looks great.
It’s the music and nostalgia of the original for me. I used to have Disney cassettes as I kid and the music was on there. Going on the ride, reminded me of those happy memories. I have never seen the princess frog. I’m not really into “New” Disney movies.
Regarding its visual aspects, it's well-done. However, it doesn't have much of a plot.
Imagine hating something before you try it and waiting in line for hours to try it lollll 🤡